Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Liver malignancies are among the most prevalent causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Intra-arterial administration of particulates labeled with beta-emitting radionuclides is one of the non-surgical promising modalities for the treatment of liver cancer. METHODS: In this work, the radiation absorbed dose of (166)Ho-hydroxyapatite ((166)Ho-HA) radiopharmaceutical was estimated for adult men based on biodistribution data in normal Wistar rats. The MIRD dose calculation method and the Sparks and Aydogan methodology were applied. RESULTS: The results show that more than 84% of the absorbed dose is localized in liver tissue (7.35 mGy MBq(-1)). Also, radiation absorbed doses of (166)Ho-HA for red bone marrow, osteogenic cells, and spleen tissues were estimated to be about 0.18, 0.38, and 0.24 mGy MBq(-1), respectively. The maximum administrated activity was obtained at 87.5 MBq kg(-1) of body weight with an effective dose of 0.39 mSv MBq(-1). The maximum tolerable dose (MTD) for liver tissue was 6.13 GBq (165.56 mCi). CONCLUSION: This study indicated that (166)Ho-HA can provide an impressive dose for liver cancer malignancies with an insignificant dose to healthy tissues.